


Mistletoe Mixup

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Connor - Freeform, Christmas Fluff, Denial of Feelings, F/M, First Kiss, Getting Together, Humor, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Light Angst, Magic, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Cordelia, POV Alternating, Sappy Angel, Season/Series 03, Spells & Enchantments, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, everyone ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:52:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8727976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: Angel and Cordy get stuck under some enchanted mistletoe after the gang decorates the hotel for the holidays.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't come up with the original idea for enchanted mistletoe, but I can't remember where I first read it. A Google search shows that it comes up frequently in Harry Potter fanfic, so that may have been where I first saw it.
> 
> This fic doesn't have a specific time when it is set, but I imagine it taking place after 3.11 (Birthday), since angst about Cordelia dying from visions doesn't come up, and before 3.13 (Waiting in the Wings).

Cordelia turned her eyes from the latest issue of Vogue when she saw Fred entering the hotel that morning with a variety of bags. "Christmas shopping?" she asked.

Fred shook her head. "Sort of. I bought some decorations for the hotel. I thought this place could use a little holiday spirit."

Cordelia hummed thoughtfully. "You know, I've never seen Angel put up anything for Christmas. Of course, he never puts up anything for any other holiday either."

Fred frowned. "Do you think he would have a problem with it?"

Cordy stood up, taking one of the bags from Fred's hands and setting it on the counter. "I just don't think this kind of thing occurs to him. I put some plastic flowers down in the basement a while ago, and he didn't seem to mind." She smirked. "We'll just give him the puppy dog eyes if he says anything. That always makes him cave."

Fred giggled, putting her other bags down on the counter. "Especially if you do it. I've got some more stuff in my car, if you wouldn't mind giving me a hand."

Cordy grinned. "Not at all, Fred. I'll even help you decorate. It's not like there was any cases for today, anyway."

A few hours later, the lobby of the hotel was decorated in a festive manner, with strands of twinkling lights, garlands, and a wreath over the front door. There was even a small tree with tinsel and some packaged ornaments near the hotel entrance. When Gunn and Wes had returned from their actual Christmas shopping, they had helped put up a few finishing touches on the tree. Lorne had assisted the women with much of the decorations and had put on a C.D. with some holiday tunes.

When Angel got up, he stopped near the bottom of the stairs, holding Connor and gazing at the transformation that had taken place that day. "Did Santa visit while I was asleep?"

"Nah, just his elf, Fred," Cordy replied.

"My family just always made a big deal about Christmas, so I really love it, and I thought it would be nice to have some decorations," Fred explained. "Is it okay with you?"

Angel smiled reassuringly. "It looks pretty, Fred. Man, I haven't done anything for Christmas in a long time."

"Well, that is going to change, mister," Cordelia declared. "I'm going to make myself some hot chocolate, and I'm assuming Angel wants some O-pos. Anybody else want anything?"

"I could go for some hot chocolate, myself," Lorne answered.

Cordy left to go make drinks, and Angel strolled into the room and stood at a spot near the counter with Connor. A few minutes later, she returned, passing Lorne his hot chocolate and walking over to give Angel his blood. Gunn snorted when he noticed the plant dangling over their heads.

"Angel and Barbie are standing under the mistletoe, y'all," he announced to the room at large.

Wesley covered his mouth with his hand to stifle a burst of laughter while Cordelia frowned up at the sprig of mistletoe. "Somebody must have put that up when I wasn't looking." _Damnit Fred and Lorne,_ she added silently.

"You guys have to kiss. It's a holiday tradition, isn't that right, Freddikins?" Lorne seemed way too pleased with himself for Cordy's taste.

"Yep, it's true. You gotta kiss under the mistletoe." Fred was smiling sweetly like an angel, but she was hiding a devil underneath. _Clearly._

Cordy huffed, pretending that this situation didn't affect her as much as it did. It was just kissing Angel, right? Her best friend, Angel. Right. She could handle this.

She reached up to lightly peck him on the cheek because best friends don't kiss on the mouth. Of course, Cordelia dutifully ignored the part of her that screamed in disappointment about that fact. _Shut up, brain._

Cordy began to back away and scowled when she ran into an invisible wall. "Ow! What the hell?"

Angel looked concerned. "Cordy? What's wrong?"

"I can't move away from you. It's like there's an invisible wall keeping me here." She could hear Gunn snickering. "It's not funny! I'm trapped here!" She attempted to move in a new direction but faced the same ridiculous obstacle.

Angel frowned and also tried to move away. "I can't go anywhere either." He glared at the others on the team. "Alright, who put up the damn mistletoe?"

Fred was squirming and doing a poor job of hiding her guilt. "I just thought it was regular mistletoe! I bought it at the same place as the wreath and garlands, and the store wasn't advertised as a magic shop or anything like that."

Wesley decided on a plan of action. "Fred, we will need you to go back to the store and speak with the owners. Gunn, go with her and protect her in case you need to fight demons."

"On it, English." Fred and Gunn started to pack up, preparing to leave the hotel.

"Lorne and I will stay here and research containment spells, especially any that might be applied toward mistletoe."

Fred and Gunn left the hotel, and Wesley and Lorne began to research. A few minutes of awkward silence ensued. Cordelia was comfortable with standing next to Angel normally, but the fact that she couldn't escape made her feel weird. Angel groaned. "What is it?" Cordy asked.

"I'm going to need to feed Connor in thirty minutes," Angel replied.

Cordy glanced at the cute little baby, worry for him outweighing her annoyance at her current predicament. She really didn't want Connor to go hungry because his father couldn't move.

Lorne put down the book he was reading and walked over to the trapped pair. "I'm going to try to take the little guy," he said.

"Good luck," Cordy said. "The last thing we need is someone else stuck under the mistletoe." Angel extended his arms as far as he could while still safely holding Connor. Lorne was able to take the baby without going under the mistletoe and took Connor back with him to the chair he had been sitting in. Wesley watched this exchange with a curious expression.

"If someone else could get out Connor, perhaps someone could pull one of you out," Wes said. He put down his book and cautiously walked over to the side where Cordelia was. Cordelia got up to the invisible barrier and Wesley inched closer. When he was a few inches away from her, a strong wind blew, knocking him down on his butt.

Angel chuckled. "You alright there, Wes?"

Wesley shook his head and righted himself. "That was odd. The magic only seems to apply to you and Cordelia, and it has a protective component to prevent someone from getting near you. We will definitely need to note that in our research."

Cordy sighed. So much for the breakthrough that allowed Connor to get free. She wouldn't get out of this bizarre situation anytime soon.

Ten minutes later, Cordy was bored enough to look at Angel to see how he was dealing with the mistletoe issue. She didn't expect to see the broody vampire fidgeting and looking nervous, like he either wanted to be anywhere else or like he was some preteen too scared to talk to his crush. _Does he really hate having to stand next to me that much?_  Angel was her friend, but the only other reason for him to look that way was too preposterous to contemplate.

Eventually, Fred and Gunn called, and Wes put them on speakerphone. "Fred, Gunn, what do you have for us?"

"Apparently, the married couple who owns the store Fred went to also has a magic store, and they got the regular and enchanted mistletoe mixed up last night when they were doing inventory," Gunn said. "We gave them our card and gave them a bunch of extra cards in case any other customers had a problem with the mistletoe mixup."

"The wife is a witch specializing in love enchantments and matchmaking," Fred added. "She put an Alomentus spell on the mistletoe. A-L-O-M-E-N-T-U-S."

Lorne looked at the index of the book he was reading. "It's in here!" He quickly flipped to the indicated page. "Huh, it says here that all you have to do to break the spell is kiss under the mistletoe."

"We already did that!" Cordy cried out.

"Yeah, but the wife said that you have to show your true feelings in the kiss," Fred said.

"That's what it says here," Lorne confirmed.

Cordy knew that she was blushing and felt tears welling up in embarrassment. This was so unfair. What if she didn't want to show her "true feelings"?

"Isn't there some other way to break the spell?" Angel asked. He sounded frightened of having to kiss her again. _God, way to make a girl feel like crap, Angel._

"Afraid not, dawg," Gunn answered.

Cordelia forced her tears away and pasted on a bright smile. "Well, I guess we have to do this to get it over with, right? No big deal." She leaned up to kiss Angel softly on the lips, pulling away after a few seconds before she felt the temptation to deepen it and take it past the line that could be considered platonic. He was unresponsive and blinking at her after the kiss. Cordy attempted to leave, but she ran into the invisible barrier again. "Damn it!"

"I think you'll have to do more than that," Wes said quietly.

Cordelia was gazing at the ground, processing the latest wave of public humiliation, when Angel tilted her chin up and gazed at her with despair. "I'm sorry, Cordy."

Before she could ask why he was apologizing, Angel kissed her intensely, running a hand through her hair and making her shiver from her lips down to her toes. Her eyes closed automatically, and Cordy wrapped her arms around Angel's shoulders, returning the kiss with equal fervor. This would be the only chance she would ever get to really kiss him, after all. Angel must have figured out how she felt and had kissed her that way to help her preserve some of her dignity.

Cordelia couldn't prevent the slight gasp when Angel's tongue entered her mouth, and she must have been dreaming, because she could have sworn Angel moaned when her tongue stroked his.

Finally, Cordy pulled away when she needed to breathe, turning away before she could see the disgust or pity in Angel's expression. The barrier had apparently dissolved, and she was able to go over to her desk and collect her purse as if nothing had happened.

"Well, as fun as this wacky day has been, I think I need to go now. I'll call if I have a vision or anything. Bye guys!" Cordy sped out of the hotel before she could start sobbing in front of her friends. As if today hadn't been mortifying enough!

* * *

Angel stared at the space Cordelia used to occupy. He had known that kissing her that way would wreck their friendship, but she had responded so passionately that Angel had believed for a moment that she might love him too. But then she left immediately, as if something horrible had happened to her.

Angel had never felt more heartbroken.

"Guys, what's going on? Did Angel and Cordy break the spell?" Fred asked. Oh God, Angel had forgotten that Fred and Gunn were on the phone. And that Wesley and Lorne just saw everything!

"They did," Wesley responded. He sounded just as shocked as Angel felt.

Now that Angel could move, he trudged over to the couch, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. How was he going to face Cordelia tomorrow? What if she was too freaked out to work with him anymore, and resorted to calling in the visions? How would he go on without her?

Lost in his musings, he didn't notice when Wes concluded his conversation with Fred and Gunn. He also didn't notice that Wesley and Lorne were standing in front of him until Wes cleared his throat loudly, which made Angel look up at them in surprise. Wes gazed at him sternly, while Lorne appeared sympathetic. Both of them had expectant expressions.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Wes asked.

Angel laughed hysterically. "Trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life."

"You might try going after Cordelia, for a start." Lorne sounded irritated with him.

"I'm pretty sure that's the worst idea ever."

"Cordelia is upset, and you need to fix it," Wes said.

Angel pounded his fist into the sofa and glared at Wesley. "It's not my fault. It's that goddamn mistletoe! What am I supposed to do, go back in time and not love her?"

Wesley looked taken aback at the anger in his eyes, and Lorne spoke to Angel. "You just need to talk to her, crumb cake," Lorne said.

"I think that kiss said everything."

"As did her response," Wes replied.

Angel sighed unnecessarily. "I thought so too, but you guys saw how she ran out of here."

Lorne rested his hand on Angel's shoulder. "And I saw her emotions, because I'm an anagogic demon. Cordy's a pretty good actress, but she can't hide her aura. She was sad, Angel. Heartbroken just like you are now."

Angel examined his eyes and saw that Lorne was telling the truth. A part of him couldn't believe that Cordelia actually felt the same way as him. It seemed too good to be true. "Right, I should go." Lorne removed his hand, and Angel stood, purposefully striding to the door. "Wish me luck, guys!"

"You won't need it!" Wes answered. Angel could hear the fond exasperation in Wesley's voice, and it gave him a boost of confidence.

* * *

After traveling through the sewers for several minutes, Angel stood at the front door of Cordy's apartment. He could hear her ranting to her ghost and sniffling.

"Who the hell would even do that? I ought to give that woman a piece of mind for putting creepy spells on mistletoe to make people admit stuff they don't want to." Cordelia paused to blow her nose. "Like, maybe I just wanted Angel to be my best friend and not know I had the hots for him." She paused again, and her voice was lower. "You're right, Dennis. It's not just that. I love him, but I still didn't want him to know." Angel heard the devastating sound of her weeping, and he decided that he had done enough eavesdropping.

Angel gazed up at the door. "Hey Dennis, could you let me in?" he whispered. The door opened silently, which Cordy didn't notice, and Angel entered, gazing at the air around him gratefully. "Thanks."

He crept over to her couch, where Cordy was surrounded by several used facial tissues. She currently had one pressed to her eyelids. He kneeled next to the couch and wrapped his arm around Cordy's shoulders. "Stop crying, baby."

Cordy stared at him, bloodshot, depressed eyes on full display and then focused her attention over Angel's shoulder. "Dennis, I told you not to let anyone in today! God, can't you even follow a simple direction?"

A door slammed, signaling that Dennis was probably in a foul mood. "Dumb, dramatic roommate," Cordy mumbled. "So, let me guess, you're here to tell me that your pity kiss didn't mean anything. Well, I'm not stupid, Angel, so you can save your speech."

 _Pity kiss? Wow, she really misinterpreted that._ Angel smiled lightly. "Cor, that wasn't a pity kiss."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Fine, an I'm-willing-to-French-Cordy-if-it-will-get-us-out-of-weird-mystical-boxes kiss, then."

Angel grinned. "More like a Cordy-is-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-me-and-the-most-beautiful-woman-I've-ever-seen-and-I'm-completely-in-love-with-her kiss."

Cordelia's mouth hung open in shock for a moment until she giggled and rolled her eyes. "Right, the snot and the eye makeup running down my face screams a pageant winner. Are you even looking at me right now?"

Angel pulled a Kleenex out of the box and wiped away the aforementioned snot. She looked messy, but no less gorgeous than usual. "I am."

"Angel." Her voice sounded breathy and unfairly seductive right now.

He balled up the tissue and discarded it on the coffee table. He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "I don't need mystical boxes or mistletoe to kiss you like that. You want me to prove it?"

When he felt her nod, Angel shifted to capture Cordy's lips. He kissed her long and slow, savoring that sexy little gasp she made and smirking into the kiss when she groaned.

He pulled back to give her a chance to breathe and kissed the tip of her nose just to make her giggle again. She was so adorable when she was happy.

"I'm sorry about my curse, Cordy. We probably won't be able to do much more than this."

She shrugged. "It's more than I ever thought we would get. Is that why you were apologizing earlier?"

Angel sighed. "I apologized because I thought that I was the only one trapping us under the mistletoe. I guess I was an idiot, huh?"

Cordy beamed. "We were both idiots." She cupped his cheek and dragged his face back to hers for another kiss. Angel decided that he was fine with being an idiot, as long as he was an idiot who got to kiss Cordelia.


End file.
